Dubai: Sharjah-bound motorists who took the Al Garhoud route after 4pm said that traffic was moving although there was an increase in the number of cars, but encountered heavy congestion once they crossed the Garhoud bridge.
Bumper-to-bumper traffic was reported by motorists who were taking the alternative route to Sharjah via the Al Maktoum bridge. The second day of Salik did not make much difference to the traffic situation on the Emirates Road as many motorists complained of traffic congestion.
"The first day of Salik was good but I think that was because everybody left their homes earlier than usual to avoid the rush," said Saeed Ebrahim, who commutes to Shaikh Zayed road.
"The highway was the same as usual and there was nothing different about it," said Ashraf Ahmad. He said the morning rush hour remained the same.
The traffic situation was reported as horrendous by motorists who were heading to Jumeirah and on the Al Wasl road.
Motorists had little to complain about the traffic situation on Shaikh Zayed Road throughout the day yesterday.
Faster
"I work in Karama and live in the Gardens. I reach home much faster now. I wonder whether it is because of Salik or the schools are off or both," said Mohammad Daca, 31, a Palestinian.
Gohar Iqbal, 32, Pakistani who usually takes Shaikh Zayed Road yesterday took a detour as he had to meet a client in Jumeirah and found himself caught in heavy traffic on the Al Wasl road.
For Mohammad Khan, 27, a Pakistani, it was no less than a nightmare travelling from Al Wasl to Sharjah via Shindaga Tunnel. "... it is a nightmare.
All the way up to Mam-zar there is congestion," he said.
Your comments
Implementation of Salik was to avoid unnecessary use of Shaikh Zayed Road and Garhoud Bridge. Who even think about using these roads for leisure, or just move around? If a person has time and money for leisure he will not even bothered about spending money on the toll. This is only a burden on working people. Most of the congestion is during duty hours when everybody is rushing to Dubai to get to their offices on time. Low traffic or smooth flow doesn?t means Salik is a success. It?s only because they are suffering more by using alternative routes to avoid the charge. Salik is the kind of tax which will have a bad impact on society in the coming future.
Saro
dubai,United Arab
Posted: July 03, 2007, 15:00
The idea is brilliant but many aspects should have been considered. 1- Salik should be only effective during rush hours. Why would I pay 4 dhs at 4 am in the morning anyway? 2- Before introducing Salik, there should have been some alternative means of transportation. What about people with limited income? Should not RTA wait till the metro is working? 3- On what basis was the 4 dhs tariff decided? Is it going to be a commodity that increases according to supply and demand? HOPE NOT
Sherine
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 03, 2007, 15:00
You know what, I don't care about you all, I used to drive once a week because of the traffic you all caused on Shaikh Zayed road. I used to hate Dubai roads. I would pay up to 24dhs per drive not to see you all on the roads. Now I love the drive. I?m thinking about buying a nice new car. Salik. Keep up the good work.
Sam
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 03, 2007, 14:52
Salik is nothing but a TAX. I feel that cost of living in UAE is rising.
Preeti
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 03, 2007, 14:43
People do some simple maths! When you are stuck in traffic for 40 minutes to one hour, for sure you will consume more petrol than the four Dhs cost of passing under a Salik toll gate.
Vahid
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 03, 2007, 14:07
Al Barsha is now a nightmare, Salik may have cleared the SZR but where did the people who devised this ridiculous scheme expect the traffic to go. There will be many more traffic accidents and deaths as many more cars are now using residential routes to get around the tolls.
Gerry
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 03, 2007, 13:46
I live in Dubai Marina. Avoiding Al Barsha left us no choice but to go through Madinat area. Traffic is horrible.
Angela
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 03, 2007, 13:37
Salik! wonderful. The first day I started 6am as usual from Al wahda street to reach Ramool and I reached 6.10am. Before Salik, it took me 30 minutes. Now I plan to start little late so that I can save some time.
Masood
dubai,u.a.e
Posted: July 03, 2007, 13:23
I agree with Reshmi. Sharjah, UAE and others who commented about the schools off and people gone for vacation.
On 28th June, when the schools started their vacation, the Itihaad road at 6:30 AM was free. But the day before, it was clogged.
So, the ease of transport in the morning is due to schools off. We shall wait till September to see what the exact result of Salik is. I think, the same more motorists will adjust to Salik and would be ready to go thru Garhoud bridge.
Shibu
Dubai,UAE.
Posted: July 03, 2007, 11:32
I would have liked to see a real road toll system put in place, like those in France, where you are charged depending on how far along the raod you go. What we have is an "area" toll and Salik has created predictable problems around the two control points as people avoid these "areas". People are then happy to drive back along Sheik Zayed road. Jebel Ali Racecourse Road is not a good choice for those of you wanting to duck the Barsha toll, just take the service road about 200 yards before the gate instead!
Rick
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 03, 2007, 11:09
I would like to take this opportunity to Thanks the great Shaikh Mohammed for introducing Salik. In fact, I have celebrated the first day as a traffic free day in Dubai.
Zain
Jebel Ali, Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 03, 2007, 10:13
I think its a matter of time that people are trying alternate routes. Soon they will start paying toll as no other option is available. If paying Dh4 saves you 30 - 40 minutes then I believe it is worth paying it rather than suffering with headache and nervous break down in the traffic jams. The Government should also speed up completion of projects like metro system, extension of road etc.
Salim
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 03, 2007, 09:47
The traffic heading towards Sharjah before Garhoud bridge is fine but once you cross the bridge then you will face the same situation before the start of Salik. In my opinion the position of the toll gate at Garhoud is wrong. It should have been located just before the underpass at Airport Road which is the cause of congestion.
Eliseo
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 03, 2007, 09:41
Salik does nothing but (create) more traffic.
Menaka
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 03, 2007, 09:32
Wow! Salik works. I live in Ajman and I got a job in Deira. It took me only 30 mins to get to my office. It used to take almost an hour and half to get there. It was like Emirates road was made for me. I hope it keeps like that.
Jahanzeb
Ajman,UAE
Posted: July 03, 2007, 09:01
Al Barsha is now a total nightmare during the day and far more traffic using this route, trucks are using the road via The Greens as well as everyone else cutting off at interchange 5 to avoid the tolls and then they head towards Jebel Ali race course roundabout and down the back through Al Barsha. Tailbacks were huge, people who live opposite the greens in the new apartment blocks are cutting over the sand and trying to access the roads that way but this clogged the roads further by cars pulling into the middle of the ongoing traffic to turn the opposite direction - this is terrible for anyone living in the Greens, Views, Emirates Hills, Lakes, Meadows, Springs etc. With interchange 5 just being finished this had started to ease congestion in this area and now it is ten times worse again and you have to think very carefully about what time you go out, salik has ruining this area and the marina/Al Sufouh road which will create big problems when JBR, the palm and more towers are ready in the marina.
Moore
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 03, 2007, 08:54
I think we should just wait till we come to such fast conclusions about what Salik has done to the roads. Let September come, let people return after their vacations, let the schools reopen. Then we will get a clear picture of how Salik has changed our lives for the good or for the bad.
Reshmi
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: July 03, 2007, 08:41
Salik is going to be a nightmare after the school starts and people come back from vacation. It's getting almost unmanagable even now so just imagine how bad it would be after a month or so when people will come back from summer vacation. There are no emergency lanes on Al Wasl Road and Al Maktoum St and many others. If any accident happens because of traffic congestion then its almost impossible for police to reach there quickly which even worse the situation. People paying very high rents and living in Jumeirah, Umm Seqquim, Greens, Emirates Hills are really losing the advantage of staying in those areas. Salik can be there but the time to introduce it is very bad. They should have waited for some time until the roadwork gets finished on other alternative routes. They could have even waited till Metro to start. This decision is purely money minded and not helping the traffic at all.
Maulin
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 03, 2007, 08:38
The main victim of the "Salik" will be those who seldom drives from other parts of emirates towards Dubai. To pay Dh100 minimum charges will certainly be a pinch. An alternate "on-spot" payment could have been a relief for them.
Rajendran
Fujairah,UAE
Posted: July 03, 2007, 08:34
Salik ought to have implemented once the Metro Project becomes operational. The present situation will increase the sufferings as many of them have no alternatives.
Abdul
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 03, 2007, 08:05
I work in Knowledge Village, and while on a normal working day before July 1 there was always transport freely moving, the past 3 days have been a nightmare with 2 hour traffic jams from the KV Exit to the end of Beach Road. Thanks RTA.
Anthony
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 03, 2007, 07:52
I experimented with alternate roads on the first day and lost 3 hours. Advice: pay and live in peace. I am only saddened that Salik is promoted for traffic regulation while it is a blatant scam to rip people off.
Jawdat
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 03, 2007, 03:59
I feel Salik is something that Dubai is not ready for at present. Introduction of Salik is justified only after all the major road constructions are completed and especially once the Metro project is ready so that people use Metro rather than car.
Syed
Dubai,UAE
Posted: July 03, 2007, 02:40
